China’s wealthy continue to show trust in Western education in the post-pandemic era, but more expect their children to return on completion of overseas study, according to a new report on international education. While wealthy Chinese families value a Western education for qualities such as “independent thinking”, they see a brighter future for their children in their home country, the White Paper on 2021 International Education in China that was released on Tuesday suggested. The report, jointly released by Hurun Research Institute and Beanstalk Education Group, was based on a survey of 600 Chinese individuals whose family wealth was at least 10 million yuan (US$1.57 million) and who planned to send their children to study abroad or themselves had studied abroad. About 60 per cent of those who have studied abroad themselves said they were “satisfied” with their experience, and one third said they were “very satisfied”, it showed. From an international education, they surveyed parents who want their children to “think independently”, “shoulder responsibilities” and “solve problems”, which they can hardly find in a domestic education system that has long been focusing on academic achievements. Rupert Hoogewerf, the founder of Hurun Report, said: “In a recent survey of ours on the happiness of Chinese high net worth individuals, respondents were happy with their family life, work, wealth and health, but relatively-speaking unhappy with their children’s education.” And despite plans to send their children abroad, many parents want them to come back after their studies, mainly as China has “favourable conditions”, the report showed. These include overall economic prospects, a better environment for entrepreneurship, closer ties with family and Beijing’s preferential return-home policies. “It’s natural that parents want their children to become better at thinking independently and more open-minded, which their generation lack,” said Chu Zhaohui, a senior researcher with the National Institute of Education Sciences. The hope for the children to return is rooted in traditional social values, he said. “The expectation for different family generations to care for each other has long been there, especially as many families just have one child under the previous one-child policy ,” he added. As for where those children are going for a different education, the report suggested that the four traditional study abroad countries, USA, UK, Canada and Australia, remain the most popular destinations, but an increasing number are considering other European countries and countries along the “Belt and Road” amid a deteriorating relationship between China and the West. Chinese officials punished after family violates one-child policy with 15 kids “Since the Covid-19 outbreak worsened international tension, overseas students have had more diversified choices. Applying for universities in multiple countries to increase the possibility of being admitted is expected to be a new trend,” the report explained. The average age of students starting their study abroad has increased from 18 to 21, it found after numerous overseas students faced difficulties returning home due to border closures in the early days of the pandemic. “In the post-pandemic era, Chinese parents are still enthusiastic about sending their children abroad for study, but the craze of sending them at a young age has faded. The number of families planning to send their children for high school study has halved, while those for graduate programmes surged by eight times compared with last year,” Hoogewerf said.